Annie
by AmylovesDanny
Summary: While brooding in the park, Danny finds someone who is about to become very special to him. Better than it sounds. Previously called "The Story of a CSI's Romance
1. Chapter 1

_This story goes out to Lindsey and Len, who managed to get me to write this._

* * *

Danny was sat down on a bench in one of the children's playgrounds, staring down at a cup of – now cold – coffee, a look of defeat on his face. He and Lindsay had nothing but playful banter, and to be fair, he liked it that way, but he wanted more. He wanted her to feel wanted by him. He wanted to be the guy she came home to every night. He wanted to be the one who she waits for, just to tell him she loves him. But could he have that with her? Like hell he could. That's right, folks: Lindsay Monroe had shot him down once again. And this time was the last time for him. There was only so much rejection a guy could take before he loses a good friend. During Danny's little mind rant, a woman had occupied the other side of the bench, and had a similar look on her face to Danny, only she was fiddling with a bracelet and not staring at her coffee.

"Rough day?" He asked the woman

"The worst. I just got three rejections from different publishing houses. And that's just today. This whole week I have had fourteen rejections. What about you, you're hardly brimming with positive energy"

"Bad day at work. No evidence to back up my theory. Shot down by a girl I like. And my shift has been moved so I wont be able to watch my favourite game on ESPN tonight"

"Ah, well, seems like your day was just as bad as mine. By the way, I'm Annabella Johnson, call me Annie" Annie extended her arm, and Danny shook her hand.

"Danny Messer"

"Ok, now we know each other's names, how about I buy you another cup of coffee…looks like that one may not be so nice anymore"

Danny got up from his spot, and walked the few steps to where Annie was sat.

"Sure, on one condition. You let me buy it for you, I never let a pretty girl pay for her own coffee"

He held out a hand to her, ever the gentleman. Annie smiled at his sweetness, thinking this other girl must be dumb to shoot him down.

"Sounds good to me"

She took his hand and got up, soon releasing it once they were up and walking out of the park. They still remained in close proximity, although this was more to make sure they didn't lose each other on the way to the coffee house, after all Danny was leading them there.

"So you're a writer?" He asked when the hustle and bustle of the street had died down a bit, and when they were nearly at the shop.

"Well I don't really call myself a writer. This is the first book I am trying to get published"

"How long did it take to write it?" Danny enquired, "You're the first person I have met who has finished writing a book"

"It took me just under six months to actually write it, but I had the idea for about three years before I even considered maybe writing it"

Their conversation flowed smoothly until they got to the coffee shop, Danny had decided to continue talking about how Annie got into writing, and what her book was about, and it seemed to make her happy, which in turn made him happy. Annie was the sort of girl who would be good for Danny.

She was very down to earth, not like some of the bimbo's he had dated in the past. And this girl was one of the two intelligent people who Danny could see himself actually liking. In fact the more he spoke with her, the more he liked her. The passion she had for writing was just overwhelming. He hadn't felt about that way in a long time, and he especially hadn't felt that way about his job in an even longer time. He was beginning to like the way she spoke with a slight British accent in her voice; girls with accents didn't usually affect him, he didn't particularly have a thing for girls with accents, but the way Annie spoke was making her more compelling to him. The one other thing, which may have contributed to why he liked her, was her physical appearance, which may sound shallow, but he didn't mean it in a shallow way. He liked the way two stray curls managed to escape her ponytail but still look completely in place, and the way he was drawn to her eyes when he first looked at her, even though there was no real reason, except from the fact she had pretty eyes. He even liked the way none of her clothes would work if they had been worn by any other person, but she makes them look 100 percent right. Even though Danny had only known Annie for a matter of minutes, he may have been subjected to falling in love with her. I said "maybe".

"Danny?" Annie waved her hand in front of his face, pulling him back from his thoughts "The coffee is here"

Danny's cheeks turned a shade of red, he must have looked like a right prat to Annie when he came out of his daze. What a great way to get a girl to like you. Nonetheless, he paid for coffee and continued their conversation once again. This time it was about him and his work. They had found a table near the window, looking out at the parade of shops opposite.

"So, a CSI, that must be interesting" Annie had only dealt with CSI's when her sister was killed in a car accident, but none were as nice as Danny.

"Yeah, you could call it interesting, but I have been doing it for a little while now, so its lost most of the interesting factor for me"

"How long have you been a CSI?"

"Ever since I graduated from the police academy, I don't actually remember how long to be exact though, sorry"

"Hey its ok, at least you've had a job long enough to not remember, unlike me"

"Well what jobs have you done in your past then?"

"Erm, well I have never been one to stick with one job for longer than a year, so far, I have been a receptionist, tour guide, bar maid, actress, party coordinator, and wedding singer"

"Wow, thats quite a mix you have there, what made you give up the acting one? I always thought it was nearly ever girl's dream to be an actress"

"Well, the series I was in needed an American to play one of the lead characters, after that, there wasn't really any need for American's to be in British TV series, so I decided to give up on that and took up another job...plus it got boring after a while"

Danny and Annie continued to talk, they fell into a rhythm which made it seem like they were old friends who were just catching up, not two strangers who had met. Their conversation went from Annie's past jobs, to Danny's past jobs, then back to Danny's current job, and back to Annie's book, and they some how ended up talking about Danny's family, especially Louie.

Before they knew it, the coffee place was closing up, they were already on their third cup, and it was only 6:30 pm, they had been talking for a little over three hours.

"I guess I should start making my way home" Annie said, glancing up at the clock on the wall.

"Yeah, I should get going too, my shift starts in half hour"

Annie went to reach for her purse to pay for the coffee.

"I think I remember saying I was paying"

"Danny, please, just let me get these" She looked up at him with puppy-dog eyes.

"Fine, fine, on one condition though" he said with a crooked smile

"What?"

"You let me take you out to dinner"

"Deal" she said with a nod, making Danny even more happy.

Annie continued to pay for their drinks and Danny waited for her before he left.

"Which way you heading?" Annie asked

"42nd Street, what about you?"

"Same" She replied with a smile

"Good, I'm walking you home then. And I wont take no for an answer to that one"

After a short fifteen minute walk, they arrived outside Annie's apartment building, and bought their conversation to a close.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow then, 7 o'clock sound good to you? He asked, standing reasonably close to her, to let the other people on the street walk past them instead of through them.

"Sound's great to me. I'll see you soon"

Danny leaned in and kissed her cheek gently

"Bye" they said in unison.

Annie turned and walked into her apartment building, leaving Danny standing in front of the entrance, holding a card with her number scribbled on it. She had definitely made his day.

* * *

Please R&R, let me know whether I should continue it, and if you have any better title ideas, I know this one is not original at all


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: I don't know if this story is gonna take off, I got 4 reviews but 3 of those were from my mates who I asked to review it. Anyhoo, here's their first date..._

* * *

Danny had been at work now for eight hours straight, fourteen if you didn't count the break he took to grab some breakfast. the case he had been working on for the past week was not going anywhere, he had managed to match DNA found at the scene with a 7 year old boy, who was obviously incapable of carrying out a triple homicide. He was seriously considering throwing in the towel, but he knew that he shouldn't do that. He wouldn't have gotten this case if Mac didn't think he could handle. Once again, Danny glanced up at the clock, there was no way Danny would be able to get everything prepared for his date tonight, not only did he have to go home and get himself ready, he was meant to stop by the restaurant he was going to take Annie to and reserve a table. By now they would all be booked, and he is not going to have time to find another restaurant half as perfect as the Italian one he had planned. Which only left him one option, and if he was quick he may have been able to pull it off.

"Stell" He said gently to the woman leaning over a microscope "Would it be okay if I left soon"

"Yeah sure, why though?" Stella was hardly one to be subtle with her questions.

"I can't tell you right now, but you'll probably find out soon"

"Ok" She said, clearly mystified at Danny's cryptic response "Dan, why not take the morning off too, you've been here for nearly a day and we haven't got any further with the case, i'll call if I need you"

"Stel, you're a star" He kissed the older CSI on her cheek "See ya tomorrow"

Danny managed to get to the locker room without being stopped on the way, which was a rare occurrence, usually some techie had some information about something he needed to see, but today was obviously a lucky-ish day for him.

On his way out of the building, he pulled out his phone and the paper with Annie's number on, quickly dialling the number. Danny was never one to wait very long to wait for a person to answer so a smile came to his face when she picked up after the second ring.

"Hello" She snapped, obviously frustrated.

"Annie?" The last thing he needed was to not have Annie's number, and the woman on the phone did not sound like her at all.

"Oh sorry, I didn't realise it was you Danny" Danny could hear her smiling, she sounded like the Annie he met yesterday again.

"Don't worry about it, just checking we're still on for tonight"

"Yep, can you tell me where we're going though?"

"It's a surprise"

"Danny" She whined. After a pause, where he was meant to tell her where they were going she decided to try another approach "Can you at least tell me what sorta clothes I should wear?"

"That, I can do. Wear something casual, I'm gonna be in jeans and a t-shirt, so match that"

"Groovytunes" She paused when she could hear him laugh a little as she said that.

"Groovytunes?" He questioned, obviously never hearing that word before.

"I sometimes use more creative words, none of which you have probably heard before, sorry about that"

"Hey, don't apologise, I think they're sweet"

"Thank you, now if you don't mind, I have to go make myself look beautiful" Annie said in a flirty tone.

"Okey dokey, see ya soon"

"Bye"

Danny hung up his phone first, he wasn't one of the old 'you hang up','no you hang up' routine. When he was finished what he was saying, he hung up. Now he had to go home and prepare a great meal in a little under an hour, which, with his nona's recipe for the best spaghetti bolognaise, he would be able to carry it off. Hopefully.

* * *

Luckily for Danny, the subway arrived within seconds of him arriving at the platform, and there had been a diversion due to some railworks which meant it was only one stop to the station he needed, cutting twenty minutes off his jounrey. 

The time soon passed quickly, before he knew it, it was 6:30, and he still hadn't got ready, however, the food was almost done, and he could count on his next door neighbour to finish the job for him while he went to get Annie.

Danny was ready in record time, only took him fifteen minutes to shower and find his green t-shirt and jeans, teamed with his converse. He just hoped he wasn't underdressed. Before he left his building to get Annie, he stopped by his neighbour's apartment.

"Sylvie, can you do me a great favour, sweetheart...I have a date tonight, and she is the nicest girl I have met in a long time, i really want to impress her, so i was wondering"

"-If I could get the dinner set up for you" the elderly lady interrupted him.

"How did you know?"

"Danny, I recognise the smell of Nona Bella's pasta sauce anywhere, you only use that when you really like the girl. Of course I can do it for you. What time are you going to be coming back?"

"about 7:10 sound okay to you?"

"Sounds great Danny, have a great time" She patted Danny's shoulder

"Cheers, Sylvie. You free Monday night? I'll make you dinner then"

"Danny, you are too kind to me, I would love for you to make dinner" She smiled at him "Now go, you don't want to be late for this lady"

Danny handed Sylvie the keys and rushed off down the hall, not before giving another kiss on the cheek.

He had to run down to the subway station, and caught the train just in time, the carriage was a little more busy now, but it still wasn't completely packed, and it was for only one stop. Fortunately Annie's building was the building opposite the station, he had got into the lobby just as the clock struck seven, and as Annie emerged from an elevator.

Even in grey stonewash jeans, a white vest top and a black cardigan, she still managed to look as sexy as hell, although the fact that her dark red curls were not up in a pony tail and cascaded gently down her back probably also helped the look. Everything about her looked amazing.it was very much like a fairytale scene.


	3. Chapter 3

When they got back to Danny's apartment, it was completely transformed, he nearly didn't recognise his own dining area. Sylvie had placed a vase of red roses in the centre of the table, with a few petals around the base of the vase; two candles cast a glow over the table – sitting either side of the vase. Their dinner was gently steaming away in front of two seats; a wine glass to each plate, and a bottle of red wine was sitting on the kitchen counter, a corkscrew on top of the bottle. In all honesty, Danny's apartment looked much nicer than any restaurant he had been to, all thanks to Sylvie.

"You did all this for me?" Annie was taken aback by the beauty of the room.

"Oh this? No, its always like this" Danny joked, making Annie smile.

"Well its still beautiful, thank you"

"You're welcome. Now, what d'ya say we start on this dinner. Hope you like pasta bolognaise" Danny said with a hopeful smile, pulling out a chair for Annie.

"I love it, it's my favourite" She replied, sitting down, allowing Danny to tuck her in.

"Good, did you want a drink?" Danny was standing by the wine, hoping Annie was not a girl who didn't drink "I got wine, or soft drinks"

"Wine's good"

Danny poured them each a glass of wine and sat down opposite Annie; they both started to eat their meal, stopping occasionally to talk about something, but for the duration of the meal the conversation just flowed smoothly. She was making him laugh and he was making her laugh. It was like they just fit together. By the end of the meal they were still joking around but they were a little more touchy-feely, Annie sometimes touched his arm, Danny even ended up feeding her some pasta from his fork (for no apparent reason of course)

They were both on their second glass of wine, and dinner was a long time finished, in fact Annie had been with Danny for two and a half hours, and they were really comfortable in each other's company.

"Did you want some help clearing up?" Annie asked when she noticed Danny was pulling his chair back and gathering his plate

"Nah, I'm just gonna put them in the dishwasher. You wanna pick out a film or something?"

"Sure thing"

Annie proceeded over to his bookcase, which held masses of DVDs, nearly all action/adventure films, some thrillers, and a few horrors. She was scouring the shelves looking for a chick flick, or a musical, or any film that she would like. Eventually she found one: Hairspray (the remake), a film which she hoped he liked too, she also hoped that he wouldn't be put off if she sang along, something which Annie was actually renowned for –she was after all a wedding singer for a year.

"You got one?" Danny said a little quieter than normal, since he was stood almost directly behind her, looking over her shoulder to see the DVD "Hairspray? Annabella, you have got to be kidding me! That's my one and only musical, and you manage to find it"

She flashed him an innocent smile

"Fine, we'll watch it, only because you're cute" He pressed her nose gently, making her giggle.

"Awesomeness" Annie pressed the DVD against his chest, letting him set it up.

While Danny was putting the DVD in the player, and just generally sorting out the TV, Annie had found a spot on the sofa, in the middle, that way no matter what side Danny sat, she could still cuddle against him. Of course, Annie didn't know Danny _didn't_ cuddle.

"Ok, you ready?" He asked, sitting down beside her, putting his arm around her.

"Mm hmm"

During the beginning of the film, Annie and Danny found themselves getting more comfortable with each other. He now had his arm around her shoulders and she was leaning into his side, her legs tucked underneath her. Annie found herself humming along with the opening song, quietly singing the occasional word. To be honest, she didn't even really think about what she was doing until she heard him snicker.

"What are you laughing at?" Annie said, obviously oblivious to she was doing prior to the snicker.

"Nothing, its just cute that you're singing along"

Annie playfully slapped his chest "Shut up"

He smiled at her childish nature, and they both went back to watching the film. Every so often, Danny would glance down at the girl cuddled up against him, considering he had only known her for a day, she already made him happy. Annie was different from most of the girls he had dated before. for starters for was actually intelligent, she could hold a conversation about anything, and not just talk about herself for hours upon hours. Another thing, and this may sound stupid, but she wasn't blond. Danny had a reputation for dating blond bimbos who usually did nothing but have people take pictures of them for a living. Annie had a career that was interesting, she wasn't just another ditz tryin to make it as a model. Thus far, she had no baggage, or commitment issues. A rarity in New York.

The film was almost finished now, and Danny glanced down at a now silent Annie once again. She seemed to be completely entranced by the screen, a smile tugging at her lips. As the end song started to play, she began to bob her head from side to side, and mime along with the words. It must have been contagious because Danny also started to mime along with the words, and tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair. He was really getting into the spirit of the film, because he was actually singing along – very quietly – to the chorus, Annie laughed quietly and joined in with him, increasing the volume of her voice compared to his. The song finished, and they both started to laugh.

"Never tell anyone you heard me sing along to Hairspray" Danny said light heartedly.

Annie crossed her heart with her fingers "I promise" She looked up at the clock "Oh my God, its 11:30, i really should get going"

"You could stay here, if you wanted" Danny said hopefully.

"Sorry Danny, i have a meeting in the morning with a publishing house, and everything i need is back at my place"

"Ok, well at least let me call you a cab home"

"That'd be nice, thanks"

Surely enough, a cab was outside Danny's apartment building in fifteen minutes, although Danny and Annie were already waiting outside. They were standing in quite close proximity, their fingers locked in the other's hand.

"I guess thats my ride" Annie nodded towards the cab "thanks for a wonderful evening"

"No problem, call me tomorrow, tell me how the meeting went?"

"Sure"

There was an awkward silence between them, and they seemed closer than ever, if that was possible. Almost simultaneously they both leaned in and met for their first kiss. It was short and sweet, nothing extraordinary, it was just nice. Danny walked her towards the cab, and went over to the drivers window.

"Make sure she gets home safe" He gave the driver a 20 and stepped away from the window.

"See ya Annie" He said as he shut the car door for her.

"Bye" She smiled back.


	4. Chapter 4

"Hi. Does Danny Messer work here?" Annie asked the elderly lady sat behind the desk of the Crime Lab building.

"Yes, dear, although you just missed him, he left for the precinct about five minutes ago" The woman replied.

"Oh, okay" Annie was extremely disappointed, seeing Danny was exactly what she needed to do right now.

"I'll tell you want, love, how about i issue you a visitor pass so when he comes back all he has to do is sign you in, that way you can go straight up"

"Would you? Oh thank you so much"

"No problem, you will have to remain in the lobby until Detective Messer returns"

While the receptionist was talking to Annie, Stella had come down the stairs to sign for a package, and she wasn't intentionally eavesdropping but she couldn't help but listen in when Danny's name was mentioned.

"You say you're waiting for Det. Messer?" Stella interrupted.

"Yes, and you are?" Annie responded, hoping that this wasn't Danny's girlfriend or anything.

"Detective Stella Bonasera, I work with Danny. Are you here regarding the case?" Stella replied with another question.

"No, personal reasons" Annie tried quite hard to not go red, she had a tendency to blush whenever she was talking about relationships.

"By chance are you the reason why he had to leave early last night?"

Annie was now sure he cheeks were at least a tint of red, Stella made it sound as though she was just another notch on his bedpost, but she wasnt, well maybe just a notch on his lips.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I am" Annie sounded confident, composed.

"Okay then" Stella turned to the receptionist "Can I have the visitor log and a badge please?"

The receptionist handed Stella the book and gave Annie the badge. While Stella was writing, she was also talking to Annie still.

"If anyone asks, you're one of the bar maids from Impulse, okay?"

"Sure, but why cant i say i am here to see Danny?" Annie was slightly confused.

Stella gave the book back to the lady behind the desk, and the pair started to walk towards the elevator, "Messer has a bit of a reputation here, you'd become office gossip in a matter of minutes, and to be honest, I'd rather that not happen to you"

"Oh, ok"

Stella and Annie were now just about to leave the carriage for the 35th floor, "Remember, Impulse bar maid, waiting for Danny Messer or Don Flack" Stella reminded her younger counterpart. "Now, i would love to stay and chat, but i have to log this evidence and examine it etc etc. it's been nice meeting you though" Stella said, guiding Annie towards Danny's office.

Annie stepped backwards into the doorway of the office, leaning against the door frame, "Thanks, you too"

Stella left, evidence in hand, leaving a curious Annie to get better acquainted with Danny's office. It hadnt taken her long before she realised that he shared this office, and with a woman. It was obviously not with Stella, no, the woman in the photo on one of the desks was younger than that, about 30 years old, roughly Annie's age. She moved around the office which looked most like Danny's side. There was post-its everywhere, remindeing him of everything from taping the laskers game to what he needed at the store. Then she saw one with her name and number on it, a messy heart was scribbled in the corner, very faintly but nonetheless it was there.

She heard footsteps approaching the office, and clambered into the big black leather chair in front of Danny's desk and spun so she was not facing the door.

"Montana, out of my chair" A husky voice said behind her, spinning the chair to face him.

"Surprise!" Annie said innocently with a smile on her face.

"What the...how did you get up here" Danny leaned down to kiss her cheek.

"Does that really matter? How about asking why i am here?" She countered.

"Ok, why are you here?" Dany asked, perching on his desk, and moving the chair so Annie was in front of him.

"The publishers liked my book, they're gonna publish it...I'm still in shock. I'm getting published!" Annie kinda squealed the last part. She was so happy.

"Oh My God! Annie, thats amazing! Congratulations! We need to go out and celebrate! Are you free tonight?" He pulled Annie out of her chair and into a hug. Somehow, he had manged to turn them around and he ended up in the chair, as soon as he realised Annie was standing, he pulled her down to sit sideways on his lap, and his arms went around her waist to keep her in place.

"Yes! Thats why i am here, to see if you're free tonight too"

"Great. i'll swing by your place after work, okay?"

"Yep, where we going though?" She said, her hand snaking round Danny's back to play with the hair on the nape of his neck.

"Erm, you know Cosy's? Well there is a jazz evening there tonight, we could stop by there?"

"Ok, you know what? I actually don't care where we go, as long as you're there"

She placed a light kiss on his lips, and only intending for it to be a light kiss, but is soon turned into something more. She smiled into the kiss, letting in Danny's tongue as it teased her lips. At first, she was going to fight for control, but resisted, Danny seemed happy enough to control the kiss. For a while, they were in a world where only they existed, forgetting completely that the lab could probably see them through the glass walls.

Someone coughing at the door bought them out of their kiss. It was the same woman as earlier.

"Messer, i got a suspect off that glove from the scene, you coming with me?" Stella asked, not paying much attention to Annie.

"Yeah, sure, give me a coupla minutes though" He told Stella, who nodded and left the couple alone.

"I get off at 5:30, so i should be at yours by 6, okay?"

"Alright, see you then" She made a move to lift herself off Danny's lap but instead he just tightened his grip on her.

"Goodbye kiss?" He made a mock pout.

Annie kissed him for the second time that morning, this one was more gentle, and a lot shorter, but still apretty good kiss.

"Now can i go?" She asked.

Danny let go of her, and she got up from his lap, he also got up and they went down to the lobby together. Luckily for them, not many people saw them kissing.


	5. Chapter 5

_This chapter is for Mabelreid - my ever faithful reviewer. Hope you enjoy it (and sorry it's late)_

* * *

True to his word, Danny went over to Annie's once his shift finished. He was a little late, and Annie was already waiting outside the building for him. 

"Sorry I'm late babes" He rushed past the hoards of people walking on the sidewalk and kissed her cheek.

"No problem, I thought you weren't coming for a minute then" Annie replied, taking Danny's hand and they started their commute to Cosy's.

"You look gorgeous by the way" He whsispered to her, whilst they were walking along the New York street. Annie was clad in a dark pink silk vest top, a denim mini skirt, and silver ballet pumps, topped with a black leather jaket. Her hair was different though, it was straight, if possible, it made her look even more amazing. Another thing which was different was the fact that she was wearing glasses, they didn't make her look odd, more like intellectual. "The glasses are adorable" He commented.

"Thanks" She looked him up and down "You don't look so bad yourself"

Danny looked more casual tonight, he had a pale blue shirt, jeans and dark blue converse boots.

The pair soon arrived at Cosy's, aparently it was closer than Annie originally thought. The doorman waved them straight in, and they found a table. Annie was expecting it to be a small table, only meant for two people but Danny chose a table in one of the booths, which could fit at least six people. Danny looked around, seeing if he could spot anyone he worked with, Mac was playing his set tonight, which usually meant the CSIs were there too, and he was sat at their regular table too. He really wanted everyone to meet Annie, especially Lindsay. He was now with a girl he really liked, the relationship with Annie was not yet full blown love, they were just two friends, having some laughs and some drinks, but there was definetely potential for something more. At least he hoped there was.

"What d'ya want to drink?" He asked her, still remaining standing.

"Whatever you're having"

"Two beers it is" Danny said, walking away.

He was at the bar a little longer than Annie had expected, she looked over at him and he was still trying to talk to the barman. There was a group of people around him, she couldn't see them very clearly, since there were other people in her way, but it seemed as though he knew them. He looked back at her, and started to make his way back to the table, bringing the group with him.

"Ann, you don't mind if my friends celebrate with us, do you?" He asked, sliding in next to her.

"Course not" She commented with her trademark smile. Of course, she was a little disappointed she didn't get to spend the evening alone with Danny, but she was celebrating getting published, this didn't count as a real date.

"Thanks babe" He slid in next to her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and kissed her on the cheek.

The rest of his friends slid into seats, and pulled up chairs. There was more of them than Annie saw at first. In fact she counted eight more people, which for a six-seater table was far too crowded. Not that she was complaining though, it gave her an excuse to get extremely close to Danny.

"Everyone, this is Annie" Danny address the table, "Annie, this is everyone" He pointed at Adam, who was sat opposite Annie and worked his way around the table. "Adam, Lindsay, Hawkes, Flack, Kris, and Stella. All of them except Kris are CSIs"

Everyone was now looking Annie, putting her under some pressure, "Hey" She replied to everyone at once.

After the short introductions, the talk moved to the reason why Annie and Danny were there, and about her book, however, that conversation didn't last too long, since there wasn't actually that much to tell, so soon individual conversations started, Adam and Hawkes were talking over Lindsay about a case they were working on, Flack and Kris were laughing together, Stella and Lindsay were trying to have their own conversation, altohught it was proving difficult to talk over an already noisy table. Which left Annie and Danny to their own devices. At first, they had started talking about Annie's book, and somehow they ended up talking about best kissing moves, and went from that to actually demonstrating their kissing techniques. He started by placing light butterfly kisses on her closed mouth and then teased her lips open with his tongue. It didn't take much persuasion and she opened her mouth willingly. Once inside, the kiss deepened and her tongue rose to the challenge, meeting him in a sensual and intricate dance. As their mouths were getting better acquainted, Danny's hands slipped round her neck, linking at the back of her neck, and hers went round his waist, trying to not alert too much attention to themselves

After what seemed like an eternity though, she thought she'd better stop, or she would never let go. Somewhat reluctantly she pulled back and their mouths made a soft sucking noise as she broke off the kiss. She looked around the table to see that only Flack, Hawkes, and Adam were left, and they were all gawping at them.

"What?" Annie asked innocently

Danny just smirked smuggly at his friends, his expression was just screaming 'She's mine'

"You two. Need to get a room"

"Fine by me" Danny joked, looking at Annie who had a distant look on her face.

"Me too" She said rather quietly.

Danny was actually rather shocked, she didn't seem the type to sleep with a guy after a few dates, in fact she didn't seem like the sort of girl who had had many boyfriends, and he meant that in the nicest way possible.

"Huh?" He finally spoke.

"I said 'me too'. I mean, we're not doing much celebrating here, are we? We could go back to mine, get a bottle of wine, some pizza, and celebate properly" She said with a raised eyebrow at 'properly'

"Now Miss Johnson, I like the sound of that" Danny said with a smirk.

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_Can I get at least 3 reviews on this chapter please, before I post the next one for you. They really do brighten a crappy day of school _


	6. Chapter 6

I am so sorry its late. Personal life got in the way and so on. Anyway, here's the story. Hopefully you can have another chapter next week.

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Annie and Danny were walking along the quiet New York street, giggling and joking as they went along. Their hands were entwined with each others and they were walking in close proximity.

All of a sudden, Danny turned a little serious, "So, what did you think of my friends?" He changed the topic.

"They seem nice, although I did already know Kris, and Stella" She replied.

"Huh, how?" She had now confused Danny, neither women had given away that they knew the other prior to this.

"Well, Stella let me up earlier this morning, and we got to talking for a little while. And Kris, well Kris comes to teach dance at a school I work at, we've known each other for about a year now, ever since I started at the school" Annie said, rather non-chalant.

"Woah, you're a teacher?" If it was possible, Danny was more confused.

"No, Messer, I am not a teacher as such, every tuesday and thursday I help out at an autisitic nursery school, there are three kids who I work with everyday, but I also help out everyone in the class"

"Wow, did not know that you worked in a school with them, I thought it was something else, like babysitting them" He said.

"No, no, no. There is a lot you don't know about me Danny Messer, and hopefully, a lot that you will find out"

The couple reached Annie's apartment building, she made a move to go in but Danny held back, still holding her hand.

"Annie, I don't know if we should go back up to yours" He paused, waiting for a response, she didn;t talk though, she just looked at him, she looked rejected, "Trust me, Annie, I would love for nothing more than to go up there"

"-Why don't we then?" She interupted him, hoping that he wouldn't be able to make up some lame excuse if she asked the questions.

"This may sound really stupid, but...I like you, possibly more than I have liked any other girl, and I don't want to rush things. Usually, I would rush things, and not really care about it, but I wanted to do things differently with you" He felt like he could easily pour his heart out on the street right then and there, but stopped, waiting, yet again, for a reaction.

"Ok, wanna go someplace else though? As long as that's okay with you"

"Sure, I know a chinese place where we can go celebrate, if you're up for it" He said, pulling her from the steps of her building, and towards him.

Of course, the chinese place was actually closed, so they ended up in a nearby bar, just talking, the conversation was not – however – on Annie's book, it was on Danny, and why he liked Annie.

"Basically, you're different from all the other girls I have dated before"

"How so?" Annie was kinda intrigued by his comment, she didn't think she was that different to a New Yorker, but aparently her previous conceptions were wrong.

"You're not a blonde bimbo trying to make it as a model, and you're drama free. Nearly all girls in New York have a story to tell about their horrible past, but so far you've gieven me no clues that you suffered as a child, you don't shy away from going out with me, and you certainly don't seem to have commitment issues. you're just simple, and i mean that in a great way. I like girls who are simple, you don't have to peel away tonnes of layers to get to know the real girl inside. Do you see now why I don't want to rush things? I want to learn things like your middle name, whether you're a righty or a leftly, whather you have any brothers or sisters, what your favourite colour is, things like that" Danny explained himself, nursing a beer.

Annie was sat oppsite him, in the small booth, running her fingers up and down the stem of a wine glass, she had been listening intently, taking it all in, but now it was her time to speak.

"Lulu-Heather" She simply stated.

"What?" Danny was only on his first beer, so it was definitely not the alcohol confusing him.

"My middle name is Lulu-Heather, I'm left handed – but i play tennis with my right hand, I have an older brother, and an older sister, but they live back home, and my favourite colour is silver" She said with a smile tugging at her lips. She loved it when she was random like this, and hopefully Danny liked her randomness too.

"Ok, smart-ass, this still doesn't mean we should go back to yours, they were just the first things which came into my head. I want to know all the useless facts about you, as well as the important ones, and hopefully you want that too?" Danny said, moving his hand across to hers.

"Danny, I can honestly say I want nothing more than to learn everything about you, I really like you too. Right now, there is no one in this country who I would rather spend time with – okay, maybe the kids at the school, but hey, i have known them for years now – you were the first person I told about the book, I didn't even ring my sister before you, thats how much I love spending time with you"Annie hesitated for a while, wondering whether or not she should ask her next question "Does this now mean I can call you my boyfriend?" She moved her hand so it was on top of his, squeezing it reassuringly, a look of hopefulness in her eyes.

"Babe" Danny began, "You can call me whatever you want, from this point on you're going to be known to everyone as my girlfriend, and – unless we have an argument and break up – that is how you will stay, Ok?" He asked her, the trademark Messer grin on his lips.


	7. Chapter 7

Despite it being no where near Christmas, it was only just the December 1st, Annie had been placed in charge of decorating the school for the children, that included trees, paper chains, tinsel, empty boxes wrapped up as presents, and although it was immensely hard work, which usually meant giving up a Saturday or being in school ridiculously early to do it, she loved being responsible for the children's faces when they see their school looking like the Christmas fairies had been. This year was different though, she had someone to help her decorate, and that may have not been a good thing.

She was sat on one of the desks, coloured strips all around her, making paperchains. Usually, she would have her iPod on, and be singing to herself but Danny offered to give up his only day off for two weeks just to be with her, so it only made sense that he would have something to do too. He had been placed in charge of wrapping up the presents, and so far he was actually doing a pretty good job, considering he was a man.

"I still can't believe you're wrapping boxes instead of being at home sleeping. Heaven knows you're tired" She commented when she saw him lean back on one of the beanbags, nearly falling asleep.

"Trust me, this beats being at home all day, I'm gonna have time to sleep later, this won't take all day" he replied, scooting closer to her, so the beanbag was now against one of the chairs at her table.

"You're an idiot" She laughed, and sprinkled some stray glitter over him. He pulled a mock hurt face, pouting at her "But you're my idiot"

"Oh, that's how you wanna play it Johnson?" He picked up the small bottle of glitter, and popped off the lid, before throwing some up at her, and moving to attack her once again with the glitter.

She had managed to spin 360 degrees before realising that he was now in front of her, armed with more bottles of glitter, in all different colours, fortunately for her, she still had more bottles around her, all ready to attack. She was good, but he was better. In one swift move he swept her off the table, and pulled her up to him, with her back facing him, the glitter looming dangerously over her head.

"You wouldn't dare" She hissed, trying to escape his grip, but failing. Miserably.

"Wanna bet"

Danny paused for a minute, letting Annie think that he actually wouldn't carry out his actions, but then the red glitter started to rain over her, followed by the green, then the gold. Even if she had just been mauled with glitter, and is being held hostage by her boyfriend, she was not even a little cross at him. In fact she hadn't felt more happy in a long time. She was actually having fun with someone besides the children she worked with. She was having childish fun with an adult, and a cop at that, always a rarity.

Annie turned in Danny's arms – after much struggle of course – so she was facing him. She leaned up on her tip toes and gently kissed him, waiting for the kiss to get more heated before she could get any revenge. Of course, it did, and they were soon fully blown making out, Annie didn't forget about the big tub of pink glitter she had stashed behind his back. Just before they were about to break apart for air, she poured the tub over his head, getting glitter everywhere, on both him and herself. But she didn't care, and apparently neither did he, he just kissed her some more. It may have been the most mind blowing kiss she had ever received. Talk about _wow._

The couple was meant to have been carrying on with this, but not only were they not focusing on anything to do with the task, but they were both extremely hungry, and wanted to leave soon. Annie began to put away all the


	8. Chapter 8

Danny was the first to awake the next morning

Danny was the first to awake the next morning. At first he was too sleepy to register that he was in a strange surrounding, definitely not his own bed, then he felt something stir against him, and all the memories of the night prior came running back to him. After he and Annie had finished in the school, they went back to Annie's to grab something to eat, he ended up staying the night, and from the look of the love bite on her neck, they slept together too. For a while, he was just watching her sleep. Something Danny Messer would actually just not do, he found it boring to watch someone sleep, but this woman fascinated him.

"Why are you staring at me?" She asked, not opening her eyes, or giving any indication that she was awake.

"Because you're amazing" He softly replied, with a tender kiss placed on her temple.

Annie's eyes were now open, and they looked as though they were sparkling, "That's what they all say after" She joked.

He playfully slapped her shoulder, then tenderly kissed the same spot. A slightly awkward silence was amongst the pair, they could talk for hours on the phone in fact they usually never stopped talking, but now that they slept together they really didn't know what to say. It wasn't an unusual occurrence for Danny to sleep with someone early on in a relationship, but for Annie it was. She was never sure what to say the morning after anyway, but with a guy she really liked, she was even more silent.

"So..." Danny tried to break the silence, pausing for a while though, making it even more tense between the two, "Was last night good for you"

Annie just chuckled at the absurdity of his question. She had heard it before, there was no doubt of that, but it always seemed to be a bloke that said it,it was obviously just a bloke's question.

"Danny, asking that is just ridiculous, you know that, right? But yes, it was good for me, in fact it was brilliant for me, where have you been all my life" she joked again.

While they were joking together, Annie's telephone started to ring, at first she thought about ignoring it, but the incessant shrill was starting to grate on her nerves. She reluctantly rose from the bed and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" She answered with annoyance. "Ok, it'll be there in thirty minutes, thank you" She hung up the phone and returned to sit on the side of the bed.

"You're leaving?" He asked, disappointment apparent in his voice.

"Not for long, I have to go to the doctors" She said, as she gathered up some clothes "I have to have a blood test every month, something to do with some drug I was testing a few years back. The pill was found to be harmful and they check every month to make sure that it is not causing any internal damage"

"It hasn't caused any yet, has it?" Danny asked, ever the worried boyfriend.

"No, don't fret, I'm in perfect health"

"What am I gonna do while you're gone? My shift doesn't start for another three hours, and I don't really wanna go back to my place"

Annie had a smirk on her lips "Well you could always make us breakfast for when I return" She said slowly edging towards the door.

Annie quickly got herself showered and got herself ready to go out, a big woolly scarf and gloves were going to keep her warm when she went out into the cold December air, but that didn't disrupt a kiss goodbye to Danny. If she hadn't had been so wrapped up, she could have possibly fallen back into bed with him and stayed there all morning. A light kiss was placed on Danny's lips, just enough to leave him wanting more, before she went off to the doctors.

When Annie returned, Danny had done as she had suggested and he made them some breakfast. Waffles and pancakes were perfectly cooked and steaming away on Annie's small dinner table, Danny was still in the kitchen, standing over her oven, waiting for something to finish cooking. Since he had his back turned to her, she thought of sneaking up on him. Quietly, Annie crept behind him and snaked her arms around his waist, but he managed to grab her wrists and spin her round, pulling her closer to him. A kiss greeted her home.

"Ready for breakfast?" He said, puling himself a bit further away to swap the French toast from the oven to a plate.

Annie snagged a slice of toast, took a bite and nodded. The toast was still very hot, and because of her foolishness, she had burnt the inside of her mouth, her eyes started to fill with tears and she was taking shallow breathes. Danny on the other hand, was trying to suppress a laugh.

"you can be such an idiot sometimes, you know that? You saw me get it from the pan" He said with a chuckle.

Annie pulled a face at him that said 'Fk you!' then got a glass of water to try to stop the pain, once she was finally a little bit happier that her mouth was not going to catch alight she finally spoke, "Ouch! That fricking hurt! It feels like there is a fire inside my mouth...it still burns"

Danny took her glass of water from her, and put it down on the counter, "I know two things that will make it better"

"Really, what are they?"

"First one, we're gonna go shopping after breakfast, I have to get some things for the lab, and some Christmas presents"

"And the second?"

Danny pulled her closer to him, and kissed her, rather heatedly too. That was definitely a cure for her mouth being on fire.


	9. Chapter 9

AN: I am so sorry for the lack of updating, everything has been hectic here with me leaving school and job huntung etc. This is the third chapter from the end, then if you want a sequel, let me know and I can post that too (its already semi-written too). Reviews are welcome - especially to motivate me to post the chapters :D. Anyway...on with the story...

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Little had changed in Danny's new relationship, he was spending more and more time and Annie's apartment, and very little time back at his own. Often, he would stay there for days at a time, never bringing home work with him, like he used to. They had now been together a month, and this was starting to get more serious than Danny originally thought when he first met Annie. Usually, he didn't do whirl wind romances, to him those were either part time girlfriends, or one night stands, never with girls who he loved unconditionally.

Annie felt the same, she didn't do whirl wind romances either, in fact she hardly did any romances. She moved around too often to find a guy to stick with, and who would pack up everything when she got bored of where she was. Although Danny probably wouldn't do that for her, she had no intention of moving on. Being with Danny was fun, even though he was a crime scene investigator for a living, not usually a career which is stereotyped as being the out going fun type, but when she was with him she felt like a school child again, fighting with glitter, walking around New York at night time, dropping everything to go out to a bar, going out dancing, watching titanic and acting out the "I'm flying" scene on a coffee table. It was definitely better than her actual childhood.

Annie had to go back to the doctors again. The results of her second bloodtest were in. apparently, there was some abnormalities in her blood, but the machine couldn't detect what they were yet so she had to wait two weeks before she could have another one to see what they were. Hopefully, they were not the side effects from the drug, the last thing she wanted was to fall ill after all this time.

The waiting room at the doctors surgery was awfully silent. It was full of old people coughing, toddlers sneezing and just generally ill people, and they all looked ill too, Annie was probably the only one who hadn't looked like she'd been deprived of food and a shower for weeks. She actually looked like she didn't belong there, her designer clothing set her apart from the rest of the patients, but she was glad of it, her prada coat kept her exceptionally warm in the cold winter waiting room, and her Gucci boots stopped her from getting her feet wet while she walked there.

"Annabella Johnson?" A lady called from behind the reception desk

Annie got up from her chair, and started to walk towards the door which lead to the doctors office, feeling more and more nervous as she went on. Reality soon dawned on her, she could be moments away from someone telling her she is going to die within a few years. The lady stopped her in her tracks though.

"No dear, the results are in this letter, we usually send them but the doctor thought you should know this right away" She said, holding out a letter.

Annie took the letter and thanked the woman. She couldn't bring herself to open it yet, so she was going to go back to her apartment, but she didn't really want to be there either. She wanted Danny around when she opened it, if it was bad news, he would be there to console her, but if he was good news, he would be there to celebrate with her too. Either way she would win with Danny with her. She knew he would be going on his lunch break soon, and she also knew that he would be going to the cafe sandwich bar place he always went to.

She entered the diner, and got herself a cup of coffee, waiting for him in one of the booths by the counter. Five minutes had passed, and he still hadn't arrived, she was starting to get increasingly nervous about what her fate held in that letter, and she was desperately trying to not open it, but tried as she might, she failed. Curiosity got the better of her and she carefully ripped the envelope and slid out the letter. There was a rather long explanation of what the abnormalities were in her blood, and something to do with her hormones and her blood count being elevated, then the last sentence was the worst. She read it over a couple of times, before starting to cry. This news was not exactly the worst news that she could have received, but it was definitely a proverbial bitch slap.

Danny entered at the wrong time. He was too late to console her, and now that she was sobbing, he wouldn't be able to hear the news from her himself. He went straight to the counter, bought his lunch and another cup of coffee for Annie. He placed the cup in front of her and went to sit opposite. That way he had more of a chance of talking to her.

"Hey, whats up?" Danny asked her, placing his hand over hers in comfort.

Annie was trying to ease up on her tears, and so far she was succeeding, she had managed to get them down to a few tears rolling simultaneously, and the sniffles.

"Annie?" He repeated.

She mumbled something quickly, not audible though, and she raised her eyes to meet his. He looked at her in confusion and she repeated herself

"I'm pregnant"


	10. Chapter 10

Sorry, sorry, sorry for taking forever and a day to update this story. I finished it a while back and up until now I had forgotten about it. Thank you to all the reviews so far.

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"I'm sorry, you're what now?" Danny was alarmed at the severity of her statement.

His voice was nearly shouting at her, and she was almost crying. Not something you'd see everyday while trying to enjoy your breakfast in the cafe.

"you heard me, I'm pregnant Danny" She quietly shrieked at him, her eyes welling up even more.

Danny moved round to her side of the booth and sat next to her, she was now crying, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in to a hug. He was not exactly sure what to say to something like that, he had definitely never gone through that before, but what he didn't know was that Annie had been through all this before.

"Sweetheart, I didn't mean to yell, I'm sorry. This news just caught me off guard"

She nodded, still buried deeply in his arms. Danny could feel her tears easing up, and she had relaxed a little, considering she was extremely tense when he moved round to her.

"Annie, honey, if you don't mind me asking, how long have you known?" he whispered soothingly.

Annie raised her head up and released herself from his grip, still staying in quite close proximity to him, his arm still wrapped around her shoulder.

"I found out this morning, when I went back to the doctors , I've been letting it sink in 'til now. I haven't stopped crying all morning either, I never thought this would happen to me" Her last statement was mystifying, surely Annie knew there was a possibility she could get pregnant whenever she slept with someone,she wasn't on the pill or any other form of birth control, unless she was holding something back.

"Annie, what do ya mean?" He sat back from her to study her for a moment.

"Can we go someplace else to talk about this, I don't want people to see me crying again, heaven knows this will make me cry" She asked, not trying to buy herself time to concoct a story, but to give her time to collate her thoughts and decide how she is going to tell Danny.

"Sure, we can goto my office if you want, since I was meant to be at work ten minutes ago. We can talk in my office, I'm sure Montana won't mind"

She was looking intently at her coffee when she gave the smallest of nods, and whispered "ok"

Danny slid himself out from the table, and held out a hand for Annie, which she took gracefully. Within a few minutes of leaving the cafe, the couple were at the CSI office, and Danny was signing Annie into the visitor book, and taking her to his office.

She was sat in Danny's chair, Lindsay was in fact sat opposite her, but she didn't talk to her, it didn't look like she'd get a response anyway. Danny had gone to Mac's office for some reason unbeknownst to Annie.

He was standing before his boss,with his hands shoved in his pocket.

"Mac, before you start saying about me being late, please hear me out first, I have a reason for this"

Mac did not look as though he had the patience for this, but he gave Danny a look which told him to start explaining.

"Well Annie, you know Annie, my girlfriend, well she called me up this afternoon and asked me to meet her at the cafe on the way to work, and that she had something to tell me which shouldn't take long, but it was urgent,anyways, I got there and she had been crying"

"-Danny, the point please" Mac said sternly, ever so not amused.

"Right, she tells me she's" Danny paused, he wasn't sure if Annie wanted people to know yet, "I can't tell you whats wrong with her, but when she told me, I upset her with what I said, so I had to calm her down again, and thats pretty much it"

"Ok Danny, you can have this one as authorised, but next time let me know you may be late, Ok?" Mac was more understanding than anyone thought he was going to be.

Danny thanked his boss, and slinked out of the office, not wanting to make anymore of a nuisance of himself. He practically ran back to his office to find his waiting girlfriend staring out the window, and a co-worker just giving him a questionable look. He silently told Lindsay he's explain later, then walked over to Annie, spinning her round to face him.

"You Ok?" Danny asked, lowering himself to her level

She gave him a small nod then glanced over at Lindsay.

"Linds,do you mind giving us a few minutes" Annie and Lindsay had never liked each other, since she was the one Danny originally wanted, and Lindsay didn't like Annie because she is the one Danny is now with, and she wants him more than ever now.

Nonetheless, she still got up from her desk and made her way towards the door, "no problem"

Danny moved to Lindsay's side of the room and pulled her chair round so he was sitting face to face with Annie.

"So, you wanna tell me whats going on" He was straight to the point with her, something he usually wasn't, this time he just wanted to know what she happening.

"Well" She began quietly "A while ago, about ten years, I fell pregnant. At the time I was too young to even consider keeping it, and my boyfriend had bolted when I told him, I was at university studying media, which was a long enough course, so having a kid would have put undue strain on my studies, so that was adoption out the window, my last option was abortion, and after discussing it with my best friend at the time, I decided it was the right thing to do. So I went ahead, had the baby terminated, but there was a complication, and I was told that I would not be able to have children, thats why I don't use another form of birth control, just condoms, I always thought that I couldn't have kids anyway. I didn't want this to be one of those heart wrenching stories, because to be honest, I have never really wanted kids, so it didn't affect me too much in my life, I used it to an advantage" Surprisingly, Annie was not crying, in fact she wasn't even upset, she had a smile attached to her lips, even though it was only a dainty smile though.

"Wow, I was not expecting that. I guess the only question really now is, what are we going to do?"

"Danny, I don't want to have another abortion, I can tell you that much. This may be my only chance to have a kid and I don't wanna give this chance up"

"Fine, do you want to keep it then?" he asked, not really sure how he was feeling, so best to get the answers from Annie first.

"I don't know, I really don't. I mean a baby is a huge responsibility Danny, you're a career man, and I may be going on book tours and things like that. We're both fast moving adults. Wait, you aren't going to leave me are you?"

"God no, this is both mine and yours, I'm gonna be here supporting whatever you chose to do. Annabella Lulu-Heather Johnson, I love you with all my heart, even though I have only known you for a month. I can't see me leaving you for anything, I'm here for you every step of the way"

"Thank God for that. The last thing I need is to be a single mum"

There was an awkward pause between them once again, Annie's last sentence hadn't been one Danny was expecting to hear, and the thought of possibly being a father now scared him to death, but he knew not to show it. After a few minutes of silence, and Annie expecting Danny to say something, anything, he did.

"So you really want to have this baby?" He was still having immense trouble getting his head around the idea, if it were anyone else, he may have been up for them having the baby terminated, but since it was a girl who he not only really liked, but this could be her only chance for a baby, he was up for it.

"Well yeah, like I said, this is probably the only chance I'm gonna get, and I know that I am not the maternal type at all, and to be honest I have never wanted kids before, but what if, in the future, I want one and I can't have one. Please just imagine how you would feel if that were you. You would be devastated, I can tell you that much for sure"

"Ok, I know your situation, and I can't imagine how many emotions you must be feeling right now. I don't even know my own emotions to be honest" he took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his noise for a while, deciding what would be the best thing to say to Annie, "Would you be Ok if I had some time to think about this Annie? Thats not a definite answer, not by a long shot, but I just need some time to let it all sink in, right now I'm still in shock" He explained, not wanting to shatter any hopes that she had of him.

"Of course I would be Ok Danny, I need some time to think too" She paused for a while "Danny, I'm going to spend some time with my sister, its only going to be for a few days, but I really need her at a time like this, she got me through the last one too. You don't mind, do you?"

"When are you leaving?"

"Sometime tomorrow, probably about lunchtime, I want to see you before that though, giving that you're Ok with it all, of course"

"thats fine with me, take all the time you need there, make sure you let me know if you change your mind, about anything, Ok?"

Annie lifted herself off the chair and went closer to Danny, she placed a tender hand on his cheek and kissed the other cheek

"I will" she said softly "I'm gonna go back my my apartment now, and pack or something, I need to do something, I can't just stick around here all day"

"Ok" Danny got up, and took hold of Annie's hand "Let me walk you out then"

They proceeded down towards the lobby, passing several people along the way, some of them asking Danny to take evidence from them, or asking him to sign for something, but he didn't notice them, he was more focused on his girlfriend, and making sure that she wasn't crying again.

When they finally reached the doors to the crime lab, he returned Annie's badge to the woman on the reception desk, and gave her a hug before she left. The hug went on for an eternity, and it really didn't matter to either parties, they needed each other more than anything right now.

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Could you please review this one. I haven't had a review for the last 4 chapters, and I really need inspiration to not only have a reason for posting this story, but also to finish the sequel. Thank you!


	11. Chapter 11

Thanks for the reviews guys, I think I sent a thank you to each of you individually, if not a big thanks Heres the last chapter.

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Annie didn't manage to catch Danny before he left, there was some trouble down at the lab, and he had to stay and work for extra time; by the time he had finished his shift it was quite late, and it was 9:30 by the time he had got home, and he was only allowed a two hour break before his next shift started. Effectively, he had just worked a double, when that precious time needed to be spent with Annie, discussing their future. She had given up on him calling him after yet another mind numbingly boring TV show finished, and went to bed, she wasn't expecting much sleep, most nights she was up throwing up, so all the sleep she could muster was a god send.

Her dainty figure lay amongst the sheets, she was in those last few moments before drifting off to sleep, when something on her floor bought her back to reality. She heard something buzzing under her jeans which were laying next to her bed, so she lazily slid over to where her jeans were, and picked up the offending object. Without even looking at the caller ID, she answered.

"Do you know what time it is?" She grumbled down the phone, not even properly greeting the caller.

"Shit Annie, I didn't realise you were gonna be sleeping. Mac kept me at work, something to do with his boss wanting to see me about me lateness. Anyway, I know I probably have no chance now of having dinner with you to talk about this, since my shift starts in a matter of hours, and I really don't want to do this over the phone, but I have made up my mind"

Danny was abruptly cut off his own phone, leaving Annie wondering what he was going to say, this could potentially make or break her time away, she had already made her mind up, she wanted to keep this baby, but now Danny had come to terms with it too? She lay back down on her bed, keeping her phone nearby, but at the same time trying to go back to sleep. Once again, she was disturbed in those few minutes before actually falling asleep, but this time it was from her door. Her first instinct was to ignore it and pray they would leave, but upon hearing a family voice she got out of bed immediately, and ran towards the door. She was greeted by Danny grinning, and holding a bag of Chinese take-out.

"You came" She squealed as she leaped into his arms, hugging him with ferocity.

He hugged back, trying to pry himself from her grip after a few seconds, "Annie, I think you're cutting off my air supply" Danny said, taking shallow breaths as she loosened her grip on him, then finally pulled herself away. "I'm really sorry I didn't come sooner, when I called you I was driving down, the roads are really quiet, but thats not the point, anyway, I went down a side road to park and lost my signal, so I figured it'd be best just to surprise you. Hope you don't mind me just showing up"

"No, its great, I don't care, as long as you're here now. You said on the phone you'd made up your mind?"

"Yeah" He said very slowly, not quite sure how, or even what he was going to say.

"What did you mean you had made up your mind? I didn't realise you had much to think about"

"Annie, I have been thinking way ahead into the future now, well not that far ahead, just the next five years or so,and I know what I want my future to be like, so I wanted to tell you and hopefully you will agree with me, or want to change some things, but we can work it all out before you go" Danny said, hanging up his coat, while Annie was collecting some plates from the kitchen. They both met again in the dining area, where Danny started to get out the food and Annie set the table.

"I think we should eat first though, I weren't sure if you had already had dinner so I got you some anyway"

"Thanks, I haven't had much, all I had was pasta, and that makes me ill apparently"

They were both taking boxes of food, and putting it on their plates, since they both liked the same thing it would have been hard to eat from the same box.

"How are you feeling?" He asked,hoping she wouldn't answer emotionally, he meant literally how was she feeling.

"I've been okay, the morning sickness isn't too bad, but it is not in the morning, I get it mainly at night time, like before I go to bed. Luckily, it doesn't feel like I am gonna throw up tonight, usually, I know when I am gonna puke"

"you're such a lady" He commented sarcastically.

"Shut it wise ass! Look, did you wanna say what you came here to say? We dunno how long this conversation may take after all" She said, taking the last box just before Danny could grab it, and smiling like a child at it.

"Ok then, after long thought, and knowing that you want to keep the baby, I realised thats what I want too. Annie, something clicked when you left, I started to miss you, I love it when I spend time with you, if I was given the choice of front row seats at the Yankees, or watching some old film with you, eating pizza, I'd chose you every time. Having a kid of our own would just be the cherry on top for me. Its going to happen someday, and it should be with someone I love. I want, in a coupla years time to have a birthday party for our kid, invite everyone from the office, and all gather round a huge cake, and even though they wont remember any of it, I'd still feel like the happiest man alive. I want to be a daddy, and screw this kid up on our own little way."

Annie had tears in her eyes by now, this was probably the most romantic thing anyone had done with her, Danny still continued,

"if it means I'd have to quit working at the crime lab, or change my shifts, or push for a nursery to to open in the crime lab, I'd do it. I'd really do anything to make sure that we're both happy"

"Danny,. That sounds fantastic" Annie got up from her chair and went round to hug him. She had a few happy tears rolling down her cheek, but she wasnt properly crying. "where are we going to live is my only concern"

he pulled Annie down onto his lap, but she was still facing him, "I don't mind giving up my apartment if you wanted to stick around here, or we could both move into mine, or sell them and buy a little house. I don't care where I live, as long as its close to whenever I'm gonna be working"

Annie kissed him lightly on the lips, "We're gonna do this then. We're gonna be parents" She had the biggest smile on her face, and knew from then she was going to be alright.

* * *

So thats all folks. Pretty please review this sotry for the last time, then read the sequel too XD. If anyone wants to beta the sequel for me, please PM me, as I could really do with someone to give me a kick into writing more of it.


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